UF Sugar Bowl ticket sales still slow; 4,500 unsold

University of Florida football coach Urban Meyer's decision to go on a leave of absence after the Sugar Bowl has done little to improve ticket sales for the game.

By Nathan Crabbe Staff writer

Head football coach Urban Meyer's decision to take a leave of absence after Friday's Sugar Bowl has done little to improve the University of Florida's ticket sales for the game.UF had about 4,500 unsold tickets as of Tuesday, said Mark Gajda, the University Athletic Association's assistant athletic director of ticket operations. He said the ticket office will close after this morning and then take the unusual step of selling tickets at the Louisiana Superdome in the hours before the game's kickoff."The possibility exists that there could be empty seats," he said.UF hasn't faced such a situation for a bowl game in at least a decade and probably longer, he said. Many Gator fans apparently decided to skip the game, he said, when the team lost to the University of Alabama and missed the chance to make the national championship game.The Allstate Sugar Bowl pits No. 5 UF (12-1) against the fourth-ranked University of Cincinnati (12-0). Both teams received an allotment of 17,500 tickets.Cincinnati sold its entire allotment and received about 1,000 additional tickets that it also sold, said Brad Wurthman, director of marketing and fan development for the Bearcats. The team appeared in its first Bowl Championship Series game last year, he said, so its fans are excited about another appearance in such a bowl."For a lot of our fans, it's brand new," he said.He said other factors boosting tickets sales were the caliber of the Gators as an opponent and the game's New Orleans location -- about a 12-hour drive from Cincinnati. The program's hope is that Bearcats fans will outnumber Gator fans and help dispel Cincinnati's reputation of not traveling well, he said."It's sort of a nice statement game for our fans," he said.UF, in contrast, has faced trouble selling its allotment despite the fact the game will be Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow's last appearance as a Gator. The UF Athletic Association has dropped deadlines and sent e-mail appeals to boosters and other fans asking that they buy tickets.Meyer's announcement that the game would be his last before he takes an indefinite leave of absence did little to boost sales, Gajda said."We haven't seen much movement, so fans have made up their minds," he said.For UF, the failure to sell tickets will be costly. UF is required to buy back remaining tickets, meaning 4,000 unsold tickets would cost the athletic association $500,000.Gajda said discussions were under way about donating tickets, but there were issues remaining because doing so might depress other ticket sales.Sales on ticket resale sites have reflected the problem. While tickets to the Florida-Alabama match-up in the Southeastern Conference Championship sold for more than $500 on average in the days before the game, Sugar Bowl tickets could be found online Tuesday for as little as $44.The Sugar Bowl itself has about 2,000 unsold tickets, bowl spokesman John Sudsbury said. Bowl officials are hopeful, but not necessarily expecting, to sell those tickets."If it doesn't happen, it's not a major disappointment," Sudsbury said.Contact Nathan Crabbe at 338-3176 or nathan.crabbe@gvillesun.com.